Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

DDB has nabbed a host of new (and some old) talent for its retail department, with ex DDBer Mark Lorrigan returning to the mothership and teaming up with Jordan Sky in the newly-created role of joint head of retail positions, and three more newbies adding some firepower to the arsenal.

Sky joins DDB from DraftFCB where he was lead creative on the Westfield account. He also worked on the Noel Leeming Group account. Prior to this, he spent over three years at Saatchi & Saatchi, where, blow me down, he was a partner with Lorrigan, who was creative director of Team Saatchi for four years, on Telecom, House of Travel, Toyota and KFC.

Completing this Saatchi's switcheroo, DDB's executive creative director Toby Talbot also worked with the new DDB pair at Saatchi's. Of course, those were slightly happier days for the agency, although winning the pitch for the Cadbury account from DDB (it is thought an announcement is expected tomorrow) will certainly put some much-needed wind in the Saatchi sails.

DDB's ex retail creative director Kim Ellison, who resigned in May at the same time as creative director Adam Kanzer and headed up the hill to Hotfoot, was at DDB for almost five years and worked primarily on the retail behemoth that is The Warehouse. DDB also has Sky TV, McDonald’s, Watties and New Zealand Lotteries on its retail roster, so Lorrigan was brought in as a contractor to fill the gap and, after some solid work in the last few months, it's not too surprising to find that he's continuing in a full-time capacity.

When Lorrigan was spoken to just after announcing his departure from Saatchi's earlier this year, he felt retail was very strong, as evidenced by the number of ads in the Sunday papers. Consumers weren't thinking about buying anything at the time unless it was a deal, he said. And not much seems to have changed since then.

Talbot: “I’m really stoked to be reunited with Mark and Jordan again whom I last worked with at Saatchi's three years ago. They are the consummate retail team. Mark has already made a significant impact with a number of our clients in the five months he’s been here on contract. Mark, of course, is no stranger to the place having previously worked at DDB for seven years. Everyone loves having him back."

As for the other additions, Natalie Lowe, also from DraftFCB, has recently joined as senior account director on The Warehouse business. She spent four years on accounts including Pascoes, Avis and Noel Leeming Group at Draft, and prior to this spent a year at Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney managing Nestle, Toyota General Mills and Lion Nathan.

Creative team Michelle Rajalingam and Raymond McKay, who have worked on Farmers, Superliquor, Westpac, Air New Zealand and New World at .99. round off the new faces.

"Raymond and Michelle are an exciting team. Their work is fresh, full of ideas and testament to the fact that retail is not about the lowest common denominator. It’s exciting to have a really strong retail offering sitting amongst the DDB brand creatives.”

If we find you doing these things, your comments will be edited without recourse and you may be asked to go away and reconsider your actions.
We respect the right to free speech and anonymous comments. Don’t abuse the privilege.

Following MediaWorks’ media event yesterday, the company has announced a few changes for 2018; including a new lifestyle channel ThreeLife, a new corporate brand identity, a shuffling of radio presenters and the return of familiar shows. StopPress talks with chief content officer Andrew Szusterman and head of programming and acquisitions Ben Quinn about the new channel, why we're seeing another season of Married at First Sight New Zealand, and the consistency in what they do.

Job of the Week

Latest comments

I don't work in the beer industry however I do work in FMCG and the global trend towards health and wellbeing is what would of driven this brief. Perhaps the Government had indicated mandatory nutritional labelling and this was a ...

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Why we like it: Super Rugby is typically a fast-paced game, but to promote the season Sugar & Partners have slowed down the action to ensure audiences don't miss a thing. Despite the change of pace, the excited fans jumping around, motocross rider and confetti ensure the campaign continues to build on the hype generated in previous campaigns. The music by local artist Kings also helps to provide energy—did you spot him in the crowd?

Who's it for:The New Zealand Olympic Committee by Saatchi & Saatchi

Why we like it: Competing on a global stage is no easy feat, and that's before cold temperatures, wind and snow are added. This campaign takes New Zealanders behind the scenes of the Winter Olympics to see what it takes get there and hopefully win a medal. In this particular video, featuring Janina Kuzma, the choice to not add music and leave the wind as the only sound emphasises the harsh conditions she trains in and her dedication to the sport.

Who's it for: Kiwibank by Hello

Why we like it: Kiwibank is bidding farewell to student giveaways and acknowledging the demographic is not only motivated by freebies. Instead, this campaign, featuring Shortland Street's Jayden Daniels, ties into the brand's wider campaigns about investing in a locally owned bank. And if that message alone isn't enough to make students sit up and listen, the inclusion of Daniels taking his shirt off is sure to generate some attention.